SuperCoach BBL: Finals are here after a big hitting final regular season round – what you need to know

It was a round of big hitting and big scores, with international level batsman struck it sweetly – the big names are hitting form just in time for finals. But what do you need to know for SuperCoach BBL finals action and which players should you bring in?

Matthew Wade of the Hobart Hurricanes played one of the innings of the tournament - can you afford NOT to have him in your SuperCoach BBL squad to start finals?

It was a round of big hitting and big scores, with international level batsman struck it sweetly – the big names are hitting form just in time for finals.

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AB de Villiers finally hit form against the stumbling Stars, Aaron Finch – captain of the bottom-of-the-table Melbourne Renegades – made another BBL century, yet it was not enough to stop the Steve Smith-inspired Sydney Sixers, who boosted themselves to second place on the BBL|09 ladder.

The Adelaide Strikers needed to defeat the Hobart Hurricanes at home to claim a top two spot, but none of their bowlers could stop Matthew Wade from posting 130 not out in an amazing display of power hitting. They fell just short of the Hurricanes’ massive total, becoming that rarity in the Big Bash – a team to post in excess of 200 runs in an innings and still not win.

HOW DO FINALS WORK IN SUPERCOACH BBL

When Round 14 kicks off it’ll be the first versus second to guarantee a place in the final, and third and fourth taking each other on in an elimination final.

The two games in question that make up the first round of SuperCoach BBL finals action are:

Thursday January 30 – The Eliminator: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder (Blundstone Arena, 7.10pm AEDT)

Friday January 31 – The Qualifier: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers (MCG, 7.15pm AEDT)

From there, the loser of the qualifying final plays the winner of the elimination final in Round 15, before they take on the winner of the qualifier in Round 16 to close out the league season.

This means there is no SuperCoach BBL League Play in Round 17 (the final round of the year), but that will still count towards people’s overall scores in the competition as well as any ‘open groups’ that have been set up.

How the finals will work in SuperCoach BBL this season

What this means is that you won’t want to have any Adelaide Strikers’ in your line-up – they won’t play again until next round, when they’ll take on the loser of the Stars versus Sixers match-up.

BOOM OF THE ROUND: MATTHEW WADE | HOBART HURRICANES | WKP / BAT | 224 points

Imagine how many more points he could have scored if he was ‘keeping and had made the most of his opportunities! Wade’s amazing batting saw him score the second highest points in SuperCoach BBL this season – congrats to those 20% of owners who also had him as captain; it definitely would have boosted the score you made in Round 12 to have him earning double points. His clean hitting seriously impacted, some Strikers’ bowlers scores, not least of all the poor bloke up next.

BUST OF THE ROUND; BILLY STANLAKE | ADELAIDE STRIKERS | BWL | -3 POINTS

Ouch.

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Sixers' Steve Smith swept his way to a SuperCoach BBL century

UNIQUE OF THE ROUND: STEVE SMITH | SYDNEY SIXERS | BAT | 101 points | 1.9% ownership

Congratulations to those scant few who invested their salary cap in the former Australian captain, who rewarded their ability to save their money and spend it wisely – he’s now priced slightly higher than before he returned in Round 11! If you have him now, there’s simply no way that you’ll be wanting to trade him out. His record at the MCG is one of the best of all time – with the Stars’ season slipping away, there’s every chance that you might be trading him out the week after, however, as he’ll be on the bye when the Sixers advance straight to the BBL|09 grand final.

PLAYERS TO TARGET NEXT ROUND

It’s all about maximising your scoring potential this round, and getting it right at the trade table – depending upon how many players from the eliminated sides you have will determine how much extra value you have to bring other options into your squad. There’s also a question around whether or not you want to set yourself apart with some points of difference.

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Haris Rauf of the Stars is back, and no doubt anyone who has him in SuperCoach will be celebrating

HARIS RAUF | MELBOURNE STARS | BWL | 83.4 avg. | $177,400 | 8.4% ownership

Down to 8% ownership having debuted for Pakistan in their T20 series against Bangladesh, Rauf is back for the Stars and they are sure to be thankful for his return, with their attack going off the boil without him. What’s to say that the first taste of international success – he took 1/27 and 1/32 – won’t actually see him IMPROVE when he returns to the scene of his hat trick? The Stars are trying to sign him up for future seasons; his sheer pace and accuracy makes him a constant attacking threat and one of the bona fide stars to emerge out of BBL|09.

DANIEL SAMS | SYDNEY THUNDER | BAT / BWL | 67.5 avg. | $189,900 | 19.9% ownership

Sams’ bowling has saved his batting blushes. With the yellow cap as the leading wicket-taker of BBL|09, Sams has been absolutely brilliant with the ball this season for the Thunder. Heading down to Tasmania to take on the Hurricanes will be a big task – their batting line-up is seriously stacked, and his skipper, Callum Ferguson, will be relying upon Sams to confound batsman with non-traditional deliveries delivered with aplomb. He’s been one of the best players in SuperCoach BBL this season and a must for anyone who wants to claim a finals victory in Round 14.

PLAYERS TO AVOID NEXT ROUND

Obvious answers: the Strikers are on a bye plus the Renegades, Scorchers, and ????? have all failed to qualify for the finals. In the finals, it’s open slather – completely adjust your side and get the balance right of those players who are available with no limits to your trading possibilities.

The dipping form of the Stars has been compounded by the absence of Sandeep Lamichhane for the finals. In terms of recent form, two favourites have definitely gone off the boil, with their recent scores showing a serious decline. It hurts to say that you should go without the below, but can you back them to turn their form around under the pressure of finals?

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MARCUS STOINIS | MELBOURNE STARS | BAT / BWL | 66.1 avg. | $204,600 | 39.9% ownership

It’s right about now that Stoinis’ lack of appearances at the bowling crease become a real concern. If he doesn’t perform with the bat, what value does he provide from a SuperCoach perspective? The only thing to think positively about his upcoming fixture the Round is that he gets another hit against the Sixers – the last time he played them at the ‘G he made 147 not out, fielded brilliant (as per usual) in the outfield, and banked an incredible 244 points. Here’s hoping for the Stars’ sake that he can do it again.

JOSH PHILIPPE | SYDNEY SIXERS | WKP / BAT | 51.0 avg. | $121,900 | 37.0% ownership

Josh Philippe may have returned to form of late, but do you really want to have the same player as nearly 40% of all other players? He’s the third most-owned player in SuperCoach BBL, behind only the aforementioned Stoinis and Stars’ skipper Glenn Maxwell, who is in 55.7% of sides. Philippe has lost only $1,100 from his starting price, and if he’s not in your squad now it’s a point sure for internal debate as to whether or not he’s worth bringing in given his high ownership levels, particularly if you’re holding onto Stoinis and / or Maxwell for the first round of finals.

CAPTAIN’S CHOICE

If you look at last season’s final series as a guide, only one of the three games saw teams put serious runs on the board, with Ben Dunk the highest scoring player with just 57 runs. Perhaps it’s just the natural pressure that comes with performing in finals, but it will be interesting to see if it is more like last season or the BBL|08 finals series, when big scoring was the norm.

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Be it earning points with the bat or with the ball, D'Arcy Short of the Hobart Hurricanes is a SuperCoach BBL captaincy choice

Looking at players available to be selected as batsmen? D’Arcy Short (also available as a BWL) is in great form with the ball and the bat; if he doesn’t take wickets, then he makes big runs. His fellow Hurricanes’ opener Matthew Wade (slide him in as WKP?) is hitting it with incredible power, while who could possibly doubt that Steve Smith won’t be his usual amazing self at the MCG?

But what about the players who are primarily bowlers? Haris Rauf is back; could he be a sneaky skipper selection option upon his resumption for the Stars? Josh Hazlewood has yet to do much in BBL|09, and is owned by less than 1% of SuperCoach BBL players. Imagine having the bravery to pick him as skipper. Daniel Sams has taken more wickets than any other bowler in BBL|09, so with his form, his experience, and the recent history of finals being low-scoring affairs, what’s the chance that he has a massive impact upon the first week of finals?

$1000 to be won every round: register for SuperCoach BBL now!

Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Finals are here after a big hitting final regular season round – what you need to know